My favorite is " This is just another BS test. I have never failed a test" If I have a line I am testing and some of the guys have tested for me before, the laughing begins. Not being a jerk, but what the hey. I love breaking cherrys. I have only one chance to check the quality of the weldor. Except for the occasional test booth queen, If they pass the test, on that day, they can weld. Few complaints from the field and over 20 years of testing welders has made my heart hard. Always been bit when I gave a welder a break testing.

Hello Gerald
                  I was practicing today and afte 3 attempte on 6'' what i thin is schedule 20 it's a 1/4 wall pipe painted outside ( yes i burned it off ) and rusted pretty good on the inside ( cleaned it best i could ) my question is on pipe with thias wall thickness what should the landing be or does it matter i'm asking cause i kept blowing thru on the root even had machine set at 40 and still blew thru was it the paint impurities in the pipe or the rust on the inside i got sum 3'' schd. 160 gonna play with that tomm and see what happens

I agree; some of my best friends are welders. My best "money makers" are some of the "worst of the worst" welders, and everyone of them is the "Best Welder Around". If you don't believe me, just ask them!

I wrote the above paragraph and I just had to laugh out loud as I did so. Why is it that the worst work usually comes from the self-proclaimed "Best _______"? Just fill in the blank with; inspector, mechanic, welder, ........

There are some really great welders, inspectors, engineers, etc. that we all have the pleasure working with over the years. Usually, you hear of them long before you meet them. "Their reputation precedes them" as one ironworker once told me. It's always an honor to work with them and to be able to associate ourselves with them.

As a welder, I always like the jobs with the "best" inspectors, because they made sure the work was performed to high standards and the welders that couldn't or wouldn't perform got run off the job in short order. It was job security and it allowed the good welders to do the job right.

As a welder and as an inspector, I find that most of the problems can be traced back to a foreman or other management that wants the job done fast at the expense of quality and if there isn't an inspector around, fast is the way it will be done. That isn't to say all contractors are the same. The contractors that have been around for years are usually the ones that do it right the first time, because the cost of repairs is what puts many of the fly-by-nighters out of their misery. Darwin was right, only the fittest survive, and in the world of contracting, being "fit" is doing it right the first time, every time.

I have a job that I'm working on right now where I overheard the steel contractor tell the general contractor, "Yea, every welder knows we're supposed to keep the lo-hi electrodes in a hot box, but no one ever enforces that requirement!" The general contractor turned to me and said, "Al, I don't care what the owner wants for inspections, I want you on this project everyday if you can fit it into your schedule, even if it's for an hour. I'll pay you if the owner says your visits are too frequent!"

Buddy, you just met the AWS Structural Welding Code and the grim reaper that knows how to read it! Let the fun begin!

"Hello Dear, book another week in the Caribbean, this job is a money maker!"

Here's to the true craftsmen of our profession! Those welders that can produce welds that are subjected to third party NDT and accepted on a consistent basis have earned the right to say, "I am a good welder".

Best regards - Al

I agree.  And I agree that some inspectors have a chip on their shoulder.  And that some try to play Engineer.  Most aren't out there just to bust a welder.  Its just a job.